The Two Chinese Philosophies Of Confucianism - 1816 Words

The two Chinese philosophies of Legalism and Confucianism could not be more opposite. Even though two of the writers of Legalism were students of Xinzu, a philosopher of Confucianism, there are more of differences than similarities between the two. Because of this, legalism, which preceded the concept of Confucianism, had a lot of reasons why Confucianism was considered wrong. While towards the fall of the Qin Dynasty, Confucian beliefs started to revamp and become more widely accepted and thus they were blended together to some extent, this was not the case beforehand, in fact it could be argued that blending the two together seemed almost impossible. Confucianism stressed the ideas of the knowledge, humaneness, and filial piety while legalism stressed power, rewards and punishments, and agricultural wealth. Thus from a legalist standpoint, Confucianism was considered wrong because it placed value on virtues instead of the laws, focusing on education to prosper growth and moral char acter instead of simply obeying societal laws and valuing agricultural wealth rather than humaneness Thus differences far exceed similarities between these two ancient beliefs. However, both have made everlasting marks on Chinese culture and tradition that to this day still exists. Here is my suggestion for a more succinct and focused intro, deleting what you have above: The two Chinese philosophies of Legalism and Confucianism could not be more opposite. Originating with the teachings of theShow MoreRelatedEssay on The Culture and History of China1656 Words   |  7 Pages Over the last 3000 years, China has had many inspirational leaders who have greatly influenced Chinas economy, literature, and philosophy. 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